Cartwright urges Titans fans to respect Prince

Scott Prince is expecting a hostile reception from the Titans when he returns to Skilled Park with the Broncos.

Bradley Kanaris: Getty Images

Gold Coast coach John Cartwright is expecting Titans fans to treat former captain Scott Prince with respect when he returns to Skilled Park with Brisbane on Friday night.

Brisbane signed Prince late last year after his falling out with Gold Coast, who initiated negotiations to offload him to Super League club Hull without his permission.

Despite five years on the Gold Coast Prince is expecting a hostile reception from both Titans' players and fans but Cartwright said his former half-back has earned the respect of Titans' fans.

"He was a great player for the club and did a lot for the club," Cartwright told reporters on Thursday.

"We want our fans to get behind us that goes without saying but I'm sure there will be nothing disrespectful."

Cartwright admitted his side will try to put Prince under pressure as they would for any half-back.

"Half-backs are under pressure no matter who you play for," he said.

"There will be no particular focus on one player. It's something we haven't done in our first four rounds and we are not going to start ths week."

Giant forward Dave Taylor and enforcer Greg Bird will attack Prince's edge in a bid to work him over but the likes of 110kg-plus Ryan James and Jamal Idris could also head his way at some stage.

Former Titans team-mate Ashley Harrison stressed the players had no hard feelings towards their former playmaker.

He could not guarantee Prince's at-times suspect defence would not be well tested by a flood of heavyweight runners.

"Princey's a great mate to a lot of us here and we're glad he's got a start up there and him and his family are happy," said Harrison, who has recovered from concussion to take his place in the derby clash.

"I suppose the boys on the edges will have to dictate what they do there but I'm sure Princey will be doing a bit of extra tackling practice this week."

Alex Glenn, who'll assume the Brisbane captaincy reins from suspended forward Sam Thaiday, said Prince was prepared for his former teammates to try to "get him" on Friday night.

"Our forwards will have to make sure they do all they can to protect him," said Glenn, who has a 3-2 captaincy record.

"Princey has worked overtime on his defence all week anticipating what is coming."

Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin confirmed Scott Anderson would fill Thaiday's front-row spot with young Dave Hala playing his first game this season off the bench.